


Bertholdt Conquers His Fear of Roller Coasters

by nerdelation8



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Amusement Park, Anxiety, Bertholdt lived through the end of the manga, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Bro!Reiner Braun, Curse of Ymir is gone, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Reibert-Freeform, Roller Coasters, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan Manga Spoilers, The Alliance saved the world, World Travel, conquering fears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:13:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27175034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdelation8/pseuds/nerdelation8
Summary: CONTAINS SEASON 4 SPOILERS!  Takes place after the Alliance saves the world.Reiner and Bertholdt travel to a famous amusement park.  Encouraged by Reiner, Bertholdt decides to conquer his fear and ride his first roller coaster.
Relationships: Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Bertholdt Conquers His Fear of Roller Coasters

“You can do it, man,” Reiner said, giving his boyfriend a hearty slap on the back. “Remember, you said you’d go on this with me.”

_Besides, if you chicken out, then we’ll have flown 9,000 kilometers for nothing._

Bertholdt Hoover wasn’t even on the roller coaster yet, but his face had turned pale. Sweat ran down his cheek as the screaming riders flew past. They kicked their legs in the air. This wasn’t just a regular roller coaster – it was an inverted one, where the rail was above the riders.

Bert wanted to ride it, but just looking at it gave him chills.

“You know it’s my personal goal to conquer my fear of roller coasters…but uh…”

“You can do it, Bert. We’ve _flown through the sky_ in janky-ass jetpacks. We’ve fought human-eating titans together! We fought the whole Survey Corps at Shiganshina, and...” he ran out of steam here. “Well…”

Bertholdt stared at him as if to say, ”You know how _that_ went.” If Pieck hadn’t rescued them from that one battle, he, Reiner, and the Warchief wouldn’t be alive right now.

“But later on!” Reiner continued, pointing a finger in the air. “We _killed the Founding Titan!_ C'mon, dude, a coaster’s way safer than that!”

It was true. A couple of years ago, Reiner, Bertholdt, the other Warriors, and the remnants of the Survey Corps defeated Eren and ended the Rumbling. And now that the Curse of Ymir had been broken, the crew who’d stopped worldwide apocalypse were finally free to find happiness. 

Most countries dropped their restrictions on Eldian travel. Which led to Reiner and Bertholdt finding themselves in another country today, visiting Oltek Shrine amusement park. 

Standing before them was one of Oltek’s finest roller coasters. Called Enemy, it was themed after an otherworldly fictional creature with frightening claws and teeth.  
The track twisted and looped around the scary-looking creature and through rocky woodlands, at one point roaring past a waterfall and through a small ravine. A pool of water splashed from the coaster’s updraft. 

As thrilling as the ride was, it never rose above the tops of the tallest trees. (Nothing was permitted to obstruct the view of the local shrine, whose towers watched over all.)

But the beauty of the scene was currently lost on Bertholdt Hoover. The dark-haired Warrior was sweating like a waterfall.

His companion remarked, “I haven’t seen you so nervous since we fought Eren.”

“About this roller coaster…maybe I’ll join you next time…”

The rugged blond grasped Bert’s shoulders. “Dude! You can do it! And Bert…I wouldn’t ask you to go on this with me if I didn’t think you’d enjoy it.”

"I know," Bert said. 

Reiner's hazel eyes met Bertholdt’s. “If you’re REALLY scared, you don’t have to.” He held his tall boyfriend’s hands. "I don't want you to have a bad time here."

Bert wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Straightening up a little, he said, “You’re right. I’ve always wanted to ride a roller coaster. It was my idea to come here and do this to…face my fear.”

“That’s right, man!” Reiner exclaimed. “And it’s gonna be fun! Who’s gonna ride Enemy with me today?”

Bert replied, a little louder, _“I_ am!”

“Yeah?” Reiner said excitedly.

“Yeah!” Both men were animated now, their chests puffed up.

“Let’s do it!” Reiner exclaimed. “Fucking _turbo, bro!"_

Bertholdt grinned, _“Hell_ yeah!” If Reiner was into something, Bert soon was too.

Just then, the previous train pulled up into the tunnel. Its riders exited. All of them were laughing and smiling, as if the ride itself had woven a magic spell. 

Bertholdt gulped. 

The family in front of them in line turned around. “It’s his first go on Enemy?” asked a lady whose skin was almost as dark as Onyankopon’s. The woman’s balding husband and her children smiled. 

“Yeah!” Reiner replied. “It’s mine too, actually!”

The lady’s said, “We’ve been on this loads of times, you’ve got to try the front your first time!”

Their son piped up, “It’s brilliant!”

“Thank you,” Bert and Reiner said gratefully as they got on the front row. 

“Cheers!” said the woman’s husband. 

Everyone’s restraints soon locked into place. The ride rolled down a slight dip, then began climbing up the lift hill. 

_Clack clack clack clack clack clack clack clack_

“Oh, God…” said Bert, suffused with dread. “The clicking…”

The ground was getting farther away. 

“No worries!” Reiner grinned. “That clicking’s actually a good thing, dude! That’s the anti-rollback device clicking into place. So if the chain pulling us up loses power, we won’t roll backwards down the hill.”

“How do you know all this stuff?!” Bertholdt asked.

“’Cause I love roller coasters!” Reiner grinned. “Ever since I went on those dinky rides in the Internment Zone. And there weren't any others we could go on, so I did some reading...”

At the crest of the hill, Bertholdt wiped the sweat from his hands. His heart fluttered. He gripped his restraints as hard as he could. 

_Oh my god…what would Reiner do?_

Bert summoned his courage and stared down the hill. He put on his game face.

“LET’S FUCKING GOOO!” he shouted as the coaster dropped.

Reiner was nervous for a moment too. He screamed “AAAAAAH!” and soon broke into hearty laughter. “Yeah, man!” 

As his stomach lurched, Bertholdt kept remembering what Reiner said. He screamed. 

Oddly, it seemed to help. The roller coaster flew upside down, did a corkscrew and flew past the walls of the ravine like a falcon. Trees zoomed past and under the riders as their legs dangled in the wind. Bert cried out in fright. He shouted some more, just because he could. As he did so, the fear in his heart gradually turned to thrills, and Bertholdt alternated between whoops and maniacal laughter. 

“This is FUCKING AWESOME!” 

“YEAH!” said Reiner. “I knew you’d like it!”

The air rushing by was invigorating. The acrobatics of the ride were no longer a scary imposition; now, they just felt like fun. 

By the time the train glided through the brake section and reentered the station, Bertholdt was grinning ear to ear. 

The train stopped. The coaster restraints popped up, allowing the riders to exit.

“That was amazing,” Reiner said as the two men stepped onto solid ground. “See, I told you.”

Bertholdt was exhilarated. He looked into his boyfriend’s eyes, threw a confident arm around his back, then swooped down for a passionate kiss. 

Reiner returned the kiss with vigor. 

When the blond and the brunet finally pulled apart, Bert said, “Well, I guess we _defeated the Enemy."_

Reiner facepalmed. But underneath it was a smile. “You cornball.”

Bert shoved Reiner playfully.

Then he said, “Let’s ride it again!”


End file.
